Improved boot and shoe shield



nitrh `tatie stmt @fitta J. I. BRADLEY, OF LAWRENCE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB TO HIMSELF .AND E. E. ALLEN, 0F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

Leners reattivo. 70,157, .aan cette? 29,1867.

IMPRovBD'BooT AND SHOE SHIELD.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, J. P. BRADLEY,.0` Lawrence, in the county of Essex, audState of Massachusetts,.have

invented an improved Boot Shield for Goasting; and I do hereby declare that the following, taken in connection with ,the drawings which accompany and form part of this specification, is a description of my inventionv sufficient to enable those skilled in the art to practiseit.

In sled-coasting upon the ice it is customary to steer the sled`by Vthe application'of one side ofthe boot to the surface of the ice, the inner edge of the sole, near the toe, being the part generally used. Such misuse ot" the boot soon tears away the sole, o1' wears through orinjures the leatherso as to spoil the boot; and the object of my invention is to provide for protectionof the boot by means of a metal shield, so disposed as to present the metal surface against the ice, and so constructed and strapped upon the boot aste be free from liability of being displaced or detached. i

, My invention consists of a shield to be strapped upon the side ofa boot, and having provision for `readily and securely fastening it in place, and so vconstructed that when applied it shall cover all that part of the upper and sole otherwise liable to abrasion in steering the sled.

The drawing represents the device embodying my invention, A showing the shield applied to a boot, andA B a front end view of it.

a denotes a plate of steel or other suitable metal bent or otherwise formed into shape to t upon and cover the side of the boot between the rounding of the toe and the shank, as seen at A. Nearwthe front end of the plate a I rivet thereto a stiff metal' strap, b, bent at its ends, as seen at B, and so formed as to t against the under surface of the sole of the boot. To this metal strap and' the front end of the plate a, and to the rear end of said plate, two leather straps, c c, `are applied, they having buckles for adjusting the length of each strap.

The shield, so formed is strapped upon the boot, as seen at A, the rear strap extending under the shank, andV preventing endwise play of the shield, and the metal strap b keeping it fromlateial movement, as will be readily understood. The boot being protected, as shown at A, it will be obvious that no part of the steering-boot will come into contact with the ice, the smooth convex `surface ofthe plate a being the only surface that touches the coast, and this operating much more advantageously than the boot-sole.

I am aware ofthe construction and use of metal tips for boots and shoes, such being made to form permai nent attachments to or parts of boots and shoes. My invention,on the contrary, is a device for temporary attachment to the side of a boot or shoe, themeans of attachment being such andso disposed that the shield is kept from displacement in any and all directions.

I claim the boot-shield or plate a, provided with the metal strap b and flexible-strap c c, all relatively arranged to secure the shield in position to protect the side of a boot in coasting, substantially as set forth.

` J. P. BRADLEY.

Witnesses J B. CROSBY, FmivcisV GOULD. 

